Photo by Neec Nonso

Hanson chidozie Okereukwu

Hanson Okere (b. 1993, Rivers State, Nigeria) is a contemporary Nigerian artist renowned for his
mastery of pyrography-an ancient art form of woodburning. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
from the University of Port Harcourt and has since developed a unique artistic voice, creating
intricate works that delve into the complexity of social interactions through figurative and
representational art.
Hanson's process involves the meticulous use of fire and razor blades on wood, producing highly
detailed and emotive pieces that breathe life into his subjects. His journey as an artist began at the
age of five with pencil drawings and evolved into full-scale pyrography during his university years.
Now based in Lagos, Hanson operates from his home studio, continuously redefining the
possibilities of his chosen medium.
His work is deeply personal, emphasizing the emotional and physical intricacies of human faces
and figures. For Hanson, wood serves as more than just a medium—it is a sacred material shaped
by nature, allowing him to uncover and highlight its inherent beauty. This process, for Hanson,
symbolizes the re-emergence of cosmic entities and the unearthing of hidden stories.

In 2022, Hanson was selected for the Rele Arts Foundation Residency, a pivotal moment in his
career that enabled him to experiment with new techniques and expand the conceptual depth of his
practice. During the residency, he began exploring the interplay between negative space and
scorched texture, enhancing the abstract and symbolic qualities of his figures.
In 2023, he participated in Young Contemporaries, Rele Gallery’s flagship exhibition for emerging
talents, where he presented The Odd One Out—a powerful body of work addressing themes of
alienation, societal conformity, and the internal struggle for individuality. This exhibition further
cemented his reputation as one of the most introspective voices in contemporary Nigerian art.
His first solo exhibition, Flames of Nostalgia (2024), also with Rele Gallery, was a haunting
exploration of memory, loss, and the passage of time. The works combined expressive detail with
elemental rawness, evoking the spiritual residue of moments that linger long after they pass. The
show was widely praised for its emotional depth and visual innovation.

In 2025, Hanson was awarded a prestigious residency with Pioneer Works in New York, set to run
through 2026. There, he is developing a new series titled Between Light and Obscurity, which
investigates the fragmented and often contradictory dimensions of the human self. These works
blend clarity with abstraction, rendering detailed facial expressions while dissolving limbs and
torsos into scorched silhouettes—suggesting the partial visibility of truth and the complexity of
perception.
Through each body of work, Hanson Okere continues to evolve pyrography as both a visual and
philosophical language—one that embodies destruction as a path to revelation, and silence as a
form of eloquence. His art challenges viewers to consider what lies beneath the surface of
appearances, and what stories still smolder in the shadows